yashica slr - is anybody like them?

[Superbus_]

I know this is a rangefinder forum and I'm a devited yashica electro user. On the other hand I have two yashica fx 3 super 2000 and a yashica fx-7, which is almost the same. These are my favourites.

Is there anybody who likes these nice yashica slrs too?

 

[PhotoJim]

Nothing wrong with the Yashica SLRs. I grew up with an FX-3 (non-Super 2000 though) and got an FX-103 Program later. I ended up going NIkon when my entire system got stolen.

The Yashica lenses are pretty decent, but of course the really exciting thing is that you can use Carl Zeiss lenses made for the Contax SLRs. The mount is identical.

 

[bmattock]

I know this is a rangefinder forum and I'm a devited yashica electro user. On the other hand I have two yashica fx 3 super 2000 and a yashica fx-7, which is almost the same. These are my favourites.

Is there anybody who likes these nice yashica slrs too?

The Yashica FX 3 Super 2000 is made by Cosina, which also makes the "Voigtlander" labeled Bessa and Bessaflex cameras, as well as the 'new' Zeiss Ikon, the Epson RD-1, the 'new' Rollei 35, etc, etc.

This base body has been used by Cosina for decades. They used to farm it out to various manufacturers who needed to supplement their line with an inexpensive model that they did not want to manufacture in-house, for whatever reason. Your Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 is one of those.

http://www.vermontel.com/~wsalati/CasualCollector/cosina.htm

Nearly identical bodies can also be found lurking under the nameplates of Nikon (FM10), Canon (T60), Olympus (OM2000), Vivitar (too many to name), Quantaray, Dakota, Hanimex, Elicar, Argus, Exakta, and Cavalier - to name a few.

They even sold a few cameras under their own nameplate - amazingly.

One of the main reasons for using a Yashica SLR body at this time is that the lens mount is Y/C (Yashica/Contax) from the FX-1 onwards. This means you can use a Yashica body as a platform for the excellent Contax Zeiss glass, although there is nothing wrong with the Yashica glass, either.

Yashica's nameplate, as you may know, has been recently resurrected by a marketing firm which is slapping the Yashica logo on cheap Chinese-made generic digital cameras and a couple too-ugly-to-look-at film cameras. Sad ending to a once proud brand.

 

[rgripp]

Very useful bodies for Tamron lenses with the appropriate Adaptall-2 mounts; however the models prior to the FX3-super/2000 will need recovering and probably also need the light-traps replacing. Otherwise rock solid but somewhat noisy take anywhere cameras.
Ideal for the situations where rangefinders just aren't suitable.

 

[Ming The Merciless]

I've owned and used two Yashica FX3 Super 2000 and one FX3. They were quite fine, light weight and got the job done. The Yashica lenses for the most part were/are pretty good although they are a bit cooler than their Zeiss brothers. I gave one FX3 2000 to a lady friend and the other FX3 2000 to a high school art department. I still have the 100 ML macro which is a pretty decent lens.

 

[pinafore2]

TL-electro x

TL-electro x

I have an old TL Electro-x its

This is one solid brick, build in the 70's use any 42 mm threadmount lens.

Not so fancy, but i keep it all summer in my boat with a 135 mm Kenlock.

I also have a very good Pentax 50 mm to use with it.

 

[bmattock]

however the models prior to the FX3-super/2000 will need recovering and probably also need the light-traps replacing.

A very good point - for some reason, the covering material they used (some kind of pseudo-leather) turns to an ugly kind of powder over time (some Contax models too).

However, this can actually be an advantage to the person who knows it and bids accordingly with an eye towards recovering the camera body later (www.cameraleather.com). The pure ugliness of the body with decayed covering can put some people off bidding - keeping prices a tad low.

 

[kalokeri]

My favorite Yashica was the FR. Kind of a low price Contax RTS, it has a really bright finder and a nice feel. The lenses are generally very good.

The FR was my first serious camera back in the 7ties. I dreamed of a Nikon but couldn´t afford one. The FR was solid as a rock and very reliable. I used it with a 50mm Yashica lens and - later - with 2 Carl Zeiss lenses.

The FR and myself parted when I had the opportunity to get a RTS 2 - the height of the Y/C line in my opinion.

Thomas

 

[pizzahut88]

The first ever SLR I used was a Yashica. Don't know which model.
Too young to know.
It handled nicely for a number of years . . I was really tough with it not knowing better. Played with curtains, abused it, finger prints on the mirror.

 

[Murray Kelly]

Had a Yashica Pentamatic in 1959/60. Does that count? 🙂

It was very well made and the 1.8 Yashinon performed beatifully. Lasted years and sold it to get a Spotmatic. Took some of my best pictures with that camera. No wonder Ziess chose them as partners in Japan.

Murray

 

[Superbus_]

Well, this is really a surprise for me... So the devil slrs are in your hands too... 🙂

The fx-7 model is interesting, because it comes with a leather covering material and it is more metallic or something like that, so for the first look seems to me more reliable. To tell you the truth they really used a cheeper covering material for the fx-3 super 2000 (huuh too long name...) . In general both variations are very reliable and another good reason to choose these that you can buy for a very reasonable price, it's a bargain.
The most ridiculous thing that I like the voice of the shutter it is even louder than my zorki's voice. 🙂
I can not understand myself, because one of the reason I like the yashica electro is the silent usage of it (in the narture, street, templs - it could be a serious advantage). So I have cameras I like because these ones are loud others I prefer because silents, I'm a complicated guy... 😉

 

[Al Kaplan]

There is a "Leica connection" to the Yashica SLR's. They used to make a line of twin lens reflexes that were pretty decent at a fraction of the Rollieflex prices and wanted to get into the SLR market. They had no experience making focal plane shutters. Rather than developing their own focal plane shutter production they bought the Nicca company which was already set up to make focal plane shutters.

Nicca made Leica copy rangefinder cameras that were equipped with Leica mount Nikon lenses. The last model Nicca they produced was marketed as the Yashica YF. It was essentialy a Leica M3 copy but retained the Leica thread mount and came with a 50/1.8 Yashinon lens. It had frame lines for 50 and 100mm lenses.

 

[KoNickon]

Yashica's SLR expertise was in electronics -- they were an innovator in using LED meter readouts in their SLRs. And those of us with the Electro rangefinders know how accurate their meters are. Their lenses were fine too, as we know -- along the way I believe they acquired Tomioka, an excellent lens maker.

 

[PaulDalex]

I donated a fx 3 super 2000, which I liked, to a young girl that took a photo course.
But I have a Contax S2 (see "show your srl") and a RTSIII.
The S2 is lovely, and now it should be possible to buy one used at a more reasonable price (when was in production it was very expensive new).
The Zeiss C/Y 50 1,7 is outstanding. Most other Zeiss C/Y are excellent too.
Cheers
Paul

 

[oftheherd]

My first "real" camera, that I bought in Vietnam in late 70 or early 71, was the Yashica TL Super. A sort of poor man's Nikon. Those things were rugged! In fact, I still have it. The Yashinon line of lenses were really great too. The Yashikor line was the cheaper lens line. Not as good, especially in flare prone shots. I don't know how the Yashica bayonet mount lenses compared to the earlier Yashinons. I never did any tests, but they didn't look/feel as well built to me. Now the Contax line however, were superb. At least the T* line. I can't imagine the few made in Germany could have been worse, but surely couldn't have been much better either.

After my Contax 139Q went south, I acquired a couple or three FX 103s so I could use my T* 50mm f/1.4 lenses. I also have the FX 3 which I got at the same time as the 139Q, for a backup. Unlike the 139Q or FX 103, it is still usable if the batteries die. I also still have it.

Along the way, I have also acquired a couple of TL Electro X cameras. Also very good. I always sort of wanted the AX but never wanted to pay what ebay offered for a stop down metered automatic exposure camera, even with the Yashica name on it. I am still considering a Yashinon f/1.2, just so I can say I had one. I just don't like what they sell for, considering how much I would probably use it.

Well crap, you guys. It is nice to talk about these old favorites. But now even the price of the TL Supers will probably triple on ebay for the next couple of months. :bang: And it's geting hard to find them in good working order. They were an excellent camera. but so cheap, they were usually sort of abused.

 

[shadowfox]

Go for this one:

 

[luketrash]

Good cameras for the money. I have an m42 mount Yashica TL Electro-X that has nice features like a metal shutter curtain, electric shutter, mirror lock-up, and a rugged build quality.

I still prefer my Spotmatic for its beautiful simplicity, but the TL is not a crappy camera by a long stretch.

 

[rich815]

They are great, especially since you can use the Contax Zeiss glass with them (even though a number of Yashica lens hold their own pretty well too). I have a FX-3 in snakeskin I got as a back-up to my Contax RX.

 

[David Murphy]

The TL Electro is pretty nice, but every single one of them I've seen needs reflocking and resealing big time -- that's usually a good idea anyway for older SLR's. I've owned the TL Electro-X too. It worked great, but used weird expensive batteries and electronic shutters make me nervous.

 

[Superbus_]

They are great, especially since you can use the Contax Zeiss glass with them (even though a number of Yashica lens hold their own pretty well too). I have a FX-3 in snakeskin I got as a back-up to my Contax RX.

A yashica in snakeskin - sounds me good. 🙂